Report: Celtics, Al Horford agree to two-year, $20M extension

Dec 1, 2022 - 2:25 PM

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The Boston Celtics and Al Horford have agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract extension, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

Horford is in the final season of the four-year, $109 million contract he initially signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019. After one season with the Sixers, Horford was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a deal that amounted to a salary dump for Philadelphia.

After playing half-of-a-season for the Thunder, Horford was shut down. Boston then reacquired the veteran big man in exchange for Kemba Walker and a first-round pick.

Upon his return to the Celtics, Horford was an integral part of the team reaching the 2022 NBA Finals. Horford averaged 10.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 blocks. He helped key Boston’s NBA-best defense last season, as well as serving as a valuable locker room mentor.

This season, Horford was playing on a partially guaranteed deal. $19.5 million of Horford’s $26.5 million contract was guaranteed. That will now become fully guaranteed, as he adds two seasons to his contract.

Horford will now be under contract with the Celtics through the 2024-25 season. At that point, Horford will be playing out his age-38 season. That means Horford should finish the productive balance of his career in Boston.

When Horford was reacquired by the Celtics, he expressed regret on leaving the team in the summer of 2019. Horford said if he had known that Danny Ainge had a plan to get Kemba Walker to replace Kyrie Irving, he may have handled his contract differently. As it was, he had already agreed to sign with Philadelphia and didn’t want to go back on his word.

This season, Horford has had to carry a bigger load with Robert Williams sidelined. He’s averaged 10.9 points while hitting 55.5% from the floor, including 48.8% from behind the arc.

The Celtics now have 11 players under contract for next season. Grant Williams is set to be the team’s only free agent of note. Williams is eligible for restricted free agency in July, after he and Boston couldn’t come to terms on a contract extension.